The Longest Day
by CBloom2
Summary: Dead man - white powder - what has Jamie stumbled upon now? And hang on, why is he struggling to breathe? Hurt Jamie (would you expect anything else from me?) Along with a smattering of concerned family - particularly his older brother.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back! This just came to me when thinking about how else I could hurt Jamie coz you all know that is what I like to do best! This will not be entirely accurate - might not make that much sense but hey, its just for fun! **

**As usual I don't own anyone you recognise - just dust them off to hurt them sometimes!**

The Longest Day - Chapter 1

"Atchoo!"

Officer Vinny Cruz couldn't help a small chuckle that escaped from him as he glanced at his partner, Jamie Reagan, who was desperately trying to stifle another sneeze.

"Bless you," chuckling again as Jamie threw him a 'I know you're laughing at me' look.

They were parked outside a small coffee shop having just purchased their breakfast items. Vinny was in the process of demolishing a hugh stack of pancakes, while Jamie stuck to a coffee, "Sounds like you might be starting with a cold there Reagan."

"Ya think? Atchoo!" Jamie blew his nose miserably. He had woken up with a fuzzy head and a scratchy throat - a sure sign of impending cold doom.

"You coming for a drink tonight after work?" Vinny enquired.

Jamie shook his head, "Ah come on Reagan, it's Friday, it's our weekend off and besides they say that whiskey is good for a cold!" he stated.

Jamie thought for a moment - it was their weekend off, so he would have two days to fester with all the cold remedies he could find, "Ok, just a couple, but only if I don't get any worse. I hate having a cold!"

Vinny smiled widely. They'd got off to a rocky start in their partnership, but he felt that they were doing a lot better now and he also found that he enjoyed Jamie's company outside of work too.

Suddenly their radio crackled to life, informing them of a concerned citizen reporting that she hadn't seen her neighbour in a few days and could they check it out. Jamie wrote down the address as Vinny pulled away.

Luckily the traffic was still quite light for a Friday morning, so they soon arrived at their destination. They took the lift to the fourth floor and made their way to apartment 12. They knocked on the door, waiting patiently for an answer. Presently they heard slow, shuffling footsteps coming towards the door. It opened slowly to reveal a white haired lady, probably in her eighties, "Good morning officers - I'm sorry it took so long to answer the door, only I'm not very good on my feet at the moment."

She opened the door wider to allow the two officers access through the door.

They stood by respectfully as the woman shuffled back to the chair, dropping heavily into it.

"I'm sorry Ms..." began Vinny, "I'm afraid we didn't get your name..."

"Mrs Scott," she replied, "Now what can I do for you two handsome young men?"

"Well - atchoo! So sorry Mrs Scott - I think I'm starting with a cold..."

"Oh my dear, let me get you something," she began to rise out of her chair.

"No, no Mrs Scott - thank you, but I'm fine," Jamie smiled as she sat back down.

"Mrs Scott, can you tell us why you got in touch with the police,"Vinny asked kindly.

"Oh yes, of course. It's the Professor in number 11 - across the hall - I haven't seen him for a few days. I usually see him a few times during the week, he comes to see if I need any groceries on Wednesdays, but he didn't come this week and I haven't seen him since Monday. I knocked on his door but there was no answer."

"Could he be away on business?" Jamie enquired.

The older lady looked at Jamie in surprise, "I suppose he could be but he would tell me...I've just got a bad feeling..."

"Ok Mrs Scott, I'll go and check it out - number 11 you said?"

She nodded, "Officer Cruz will stay here and ask you a few more questions before he joins me if that's ok with you?" He looked at both of the other people in the room. Mrs Scott nodded her head eagerly, while Vinny didn't look overly impressed with being left to ask her more questions but nodded his agreement anyway.

"Fine - I'll join you shortly, partner."

Vinny watched Jamie leave the apartment. He spent the next ten minutes chatting to Mrs Scott about the Professor and his comings and goings.

Suddenly he heard a loud slam of a door. He excused himself and went to investigate. Slowly, he made his way into the corridor, alert for anything untoward.

He stopped outside apartment 11, knowing that Jamie was in there. He tried the door and was surprised to find it locked. He knocked, "Reagan! Hey Jamie - what's going on? Why is the door locked?" He stood quietly waiting for an answer, "Jamie?!"

"What's going on Officer Cruz?" A quiet voice broke into the silence.

Vinny glanced round to see Mrs Scott venturing out of her apartment, concern etched on her face. Quickly he moved towards her, turning her round and steering her back to her apartment, with what he hoped was a comforting smile on his face, "I just need to liase with my partner Mrs Scott. It would be a great help if you would go back inside and close the door. I will come and explain everything once I have spoken to my partner."

Mrs Scott didn't look convinced, but she complied, closing the door behind her.

Once Vinny was certain that the older lady was safe behind her door, he quickly made his way across the corridor, his stomach beginning to clench with anxiety. Why wasn't Jamie answering him? Was he hurt?

He banged loudly on the door again, "Jamie! What's going on? Open this door! Are you ok?" he yelled as he rattled the door knob again.

"Vinny! Don't come in!" He heard from the other side of the door.

"Why? Jamie, tell me what's going on!" He was starting to feel a little frantic now.

"We need a De-Con team in asap!" Jamie shouted through the door. Vinny's breath caught in his throat, "What?"

"Vinny, there's a dead man in here - white powder on the floor and the air con unit was on when I entered the back room...we need a De-Con team - now!"

**Uh oh what's Jamie got himself into now? **

**Remember that this is fiction - I don't know technical terms - I just make them up as I go along. **

**Also Im posting this to see if anyone is interested in me carrying on with it - I haven't got any more written yet, which is not like me. Please let me know if it's worth me carrying on - thank you so much for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who read the first chapter - 22 reviews for it - think that's the most I've ever got for a first chapter! So thank you again. Also thank to everyone who made it or me a favourite - really means a lot.**

**Onto chapter 2 - again I don't know anything technical, I just try to make it sound credible so please bear with me!**

The Longest Day - Chapter 2

"Done!" Danny Reagan punched the enter button on his keyboard triumphantly. He got up from his chair to fetch a sheet of paper from the printer - put it in a file and happily placed it in the Sergents 'In Tray', "And done!" he smiled as he patted the file. He sat down in his chair with a flourish and turned to his partner, who was lazily stirring her second cup of coffee, "That's it Jack, all reports done..."

"Yeah until the next mountain you allow to form," Jackie murmered sarcastically.

Danny threw her a forced smile, "Yeah, yeah - but for now they are done - I have the weekend free to spend with my gorgeous wife and fabulous kids..."

"Reagan! Curatola! My office please!" Sgt Gormley shouted from his office. Danny sighed heavily - was this his weekend going up in smoke?

They entered the office, "Close the door," their boss ordered. They closed it and took the offered seats.

"We've just had word that a white powdery substance has been found in an apartment owned by a Professor from a local University. I don't have any more details for you at the moment. A De-Con team has been dispatched to the scene. Look, I don't know if there's anything you can do, but I'd like you to go there and see what you can find out."

Danny and Jackie looked at each other, "We know nothing about this powder?" Jackie enquired. Gormley shook his head, "Not at the moment...but obviously it's being treated as a threat...so everything's on a need to know basis for the time being."

"Ok Sarge - we'll go do some digging,"Danny tried to sound positive, even though his brain was screaming at him not to go. As the two detectives reached the door Gormley called their names again, "Be careful!" He looked worried.

"You know we will Sarge," Danny assured him.

Fifteen minutes later, Danny and Jackie were taking the lift to the 4th floor of the apartment building. As they exited the lift they were aware of some uniformed officers knocking on the doors and talking to the occupants. As they carried on, they saw members of the De-Con team beginning to suit up. Suddenly Danny stopped dead - his stomach clenching. Jackie walked into the back of him, "Oof Reagan! Why did you s...?" The question died on her lips when she caught sight of what Danny had seen...

Jamie's partner stood outside the apartment that they had come to investigate, in deep conversation with a white suited man - concern radiating off him in waves , "Jack..." Danny whispered, fear evident in his voice.

"We don't know anything yet Danny," Jackie told him trying to reassure him.

He quickened his pace until he reached the younger man, "Hey Cruz!"

The younger man turned, shock evident on his face, "Danny...I'm sorry, Detective Reagan, what are you doing here?"

"We've been sent to investigate...Vinny...where's Jamie?" Danny asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Erm...well..." Vinny looked fearful.

"Please don't tell me he's in there...with this powder," Danny looked stricken as Vinny nodded his head. Danny felt his partners hand on his shoulder.

Uncharacteristically, the older detective felt at a loss - his baby brother was in a locked apartment with an unidentified white powder, "Atchoo!"

Hearing the sneeze made him leap into action. Before anyone could stop him, he had raced to the door, banging hard on it, "Jamie! Jamie! Open the door!"

"No Danny I can't! I can't risk it! You know that! Look it's probably harmless, but until we know for sure we need to keep this door closed!"

Danny whirled around, coming face to face with the first member of the white suited team, "That's my kid brother in there..."

The guy placed a hand on his arm, "I understand. Let us get in there and do our jobs so we can get your brother out of there as soon as we can!" He assured the obviously frightened detective.

Detective Melissa Baker sighed deeply as she disconnected the call. That had not been the type of call she had been expecting to receive that day. How was she going to tell the Commissioner?

She rose slowly from her chair, smoothed down her skirt, and proceeded to her boss's office. She knocked purposefully on the door and stepped in. Four pairs of eyes looked her way, but she was only concerned about one - the Commissioner rose to his feet, "Detective Baker," he greeted. Frank already knew, from her body language, that she had something serious to tell him, "Excuse the intrusion Sir, but may we step elsewhere for a moment?"

Frank studied his aide. This did not look good...not at all. He glanced at Garrett Moore, who also understood the seriousness of Baker's face, so he continued talking to the other two people in the room to allow Frank to lead Baker towards the 'Ops Room'.

Frank allowed Baker to walk in first, then followed, closing the door behind them both, "Frank..." she began. That caused his stomach to clench straight away - the fact that she had addressed him by his first name, "Out with it Baker," he encouraged kindly.

"Your son, Danny, was sent to investigate the death of a University professor at his apartment..." she began.

"Is he hurt?" Frank interrupted fearfully.

"Oh no he's fine. They found a white powdery substance in the apartment...well a NYPD officer found the powder..."

"Oh God, no, not Jamie?" Frank breathed, feeling his legs weaken.

"I'm sorry Frank, but it seems that it was Jamie who found it - he also reported that the air conditioning was blowing when he entered the apartment. They haven't identified the substance as yet - but Jamie followed procedure to the letter and he's on his way to St Lukes," Baker finished, watching her boss intently for his reaction, "What about Danny? Is he ok?"

Baker understood that Frank had to be sure that his sons were coping, before he could slip back into Commissioner mode, "It was Danny I spoke to on the phone. He sounded calm. He said he'd seen Jamie and he looked alright - he was following him to the hospital."

Frank nodded. He sat in quiet contemplation for a while, "Baker..."

"I will cancel or reschedule all your appointments for today. Any I can't, Garrett can take them and I'll call your father and Erin."

Frank took a step and pulled Baker into a thankful embrace, "What would I do without you?"

"Crash and burn..." she joked as he let her go, "Please keep us informed," she requested as he left through the side door.

**And so endeth the second chapter! Not much Jamie, I know, but he will be back in the next chapter. Hope it was ok.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you again for the reviews of the last chapter - glad you all seemed to like it. Here is chapter 3 - I don't have any medical training so I am making most of it up - hope it sounds vaguely credible!**

The Longest Day - chapter 3

Danny was pacing a hole in the floor. He had been waiting for what seemed like hours, but was, in fact, only half an hour. His pacing stopped only when his father strode through the double doors and pulled him into a quick embrace, "You heard anything?" he enquired.

Danny shook his head sadly, "Nothing. God dad, seeing the De-Con team, then Jamie's partner...I..."

Frank let him go, nodding in understanding, " I know son, I know..."

It was at that moment that he became aware of Jamie's partner, sat in the waiting area, his head in his hands. He made his way over, " Officer Cruz - have you been checked out?"

Vinny looked up in surprise, although why he would be surprised seeing as the Commissioner was also Jamie's father, "Yes sir," he replied, sitting up a bit straighter, "They said I was good to go - but I need to know how Jamie is - I should've been there with him!"

"Officer Cruz...Vinny, now is not the time for second guessing our actions - you both followed protocol when it mattered and that's what counts!"

Vinny dropped his head.

"Is your supervisor aware of what's happened?" Frank enquired.

"Yes sir, Sgt Renzulli was my first call," Vinny informed him.

"I'd like you to go back to the 12th and inform him that I have given you the rest of the day off. He can call me if he needs to."

"But sir, I need to know about Jamie..." he pleaded.

"As soon as I find out anything - I will let you know," Frank assured the younger officer.

Vinny slowly rose to his feet, "Thank you Commissioner."

"It's Frank - you're off duty now son," Frank put out his hand and Vinny shook it.

As Vinny left, Frank made his way back to Danny, "You phoned Grandpa and Erin?"

Frank shook his head, "Baker said she would call them," he told him.

Frank sat down gesturing Danny to join him, "Tell me everything you know Danny."

So Danny told him everything that he knew so far, which actually wasn't very much.

A little later the double doors clattered open again to reveal Henry and Erin. Both dashed in, bombarding them both with questions, to which neither of them had any answers.

Not long after their arrival, a doctor came through to the waiting area, "Family of Officer Reagan?"

Frank stepped forward, introducing everyone.

"If you will follow me, I will take you to Jamie and explain what we know."

The Reagan family eagerly followed the doctor until he paused outside a room, "We do have him hooked up to some machines - just to monitor his vitals..." he finished as he opened the door, allowing them access to their youngest.

Jamie was sat up - basically looking none the worse for his scare. He smiled as Erin immediately took one side of his bed and Danny took the other side - each asking if he was o, without actually saying any words. Erin couldn't help but run a hand through his hair causing him to try to knock it away, with an impatient sigh, "You can sigh all you want young man, but I need this," Erin insisted.'

Jamie looked at her apologetically, "Atchoo!"

Jamie's sneeze caused Erin and Danny to take a step back, and for Frank to glance anxiously at the doctor.

"Ok, let's get started. My name is Dr Moore and I have been treating Jamie since he was brought in. The tests on the powder confirmed that it was Anthrax..."

"What?!" Erin gasped, looking fearfully toward her father, who had closed his eyes for a second.

"It's ok Erin - it's not as bad as it sounds," Jamie insisted as he felt Danny squeeze his hand.

"Jamie's right - it hadn't been tampered with so it wasn't weapons grade or anything like that. Although it is Anthrax, we can treat it..."

"So are you saying that Jamie was infected?" Henry spoke up.

"The tests do show that Jamie inhaled some spores - the air conditioning was on when he went into the apartment - but because he followed the correct procedure straight away, he isn't as badly infected as some other patients I have seen in the past. My only real concern at this moment is that he is starting with a cold, so his immune system may be compromised a little. We have already started him on some strong antibiotics and we will be keeping an eye on him for at least the next couple of days."

Jamie slumped further down the bed - he hadn't heard that from the doctor during their previous conversation.

"Uh oh, he's sulking," Danny chuckled, which earned him an annoyed glance from his brother.

Dr Moore smiled, "Do you have any questions?"

"So he's going to be alright?" Erin needed to clarify - she'd already lost one brother, she couldn't cope with losing another.

"There is no reason to think otherwise. The fact that he followed the protocol that was in place as quickly as he did, definitely made all the difference. Well I'll leave you alone. There will be nurses in and out on a regular basis to check his vitals..."

"Thank you doctor," Frank said sincerely, as he shook his hand. The doctor smiled, nodded and left the Reagan family alone with their youngest.

Danny ran a hand through his hair, "Geez kid, you really get yourself into some scrapes," he commented, not really meaning anything by it. But, unfortunately, Jamie , being in the condition that he was, took it as a dig at him, " It's not like I planned any of this! We were investigating a missing person..." he snapped.

"Whoa, hey Jamie, I didn't mean anything by it," Danny tried to reassure the younger man.

Jamie realised that Danny was telling the truth, "I'm sorry Danny, I guess I'm a little on edge..."

Danny shrugged his shoulders, "Ah don't sweat it kid..."

"Atchoo!" Another sneeze racked through his body - but this time it looked like it had taken at lot out of him. Erin glanced fearfully at her older brother, who looked equally concerned, "Hey, stop throwing each other the look of doom! I'm ok - it's just a cold and I'm feeling a little tired, " Jamie huffed as he lay his head back on the pillow, closing his eyes for a couple of minutes.

While his eyes were closed, the rest of the family looked at each other in silent conversation.'Jamie opened his eyes, aware that something was going on, "What's going on?" he asked, suspiciously.

Danny couldn't help chuckling at the frown on his brothers face, "Just a conspiracy..." Jamie looked confused.

"I am going to take your grandfather and Erin home - then when I get back, Danny will go home."

Now it was Danny's turn to look confused, "I don't remember agreeing to that!"

"You've got your family...Atchoo! They boys need you...cough...cough..." Jamie had to sit up straighter as a coughing fit overtook him. Danny jumped up to get him a tissue and a drink, "Here you go kid," he said quietly, helping his brother to sit back once the coughing had subsided, "I'm ok. It's just a cold...but I think I might have a nap now, " he told them as he closed his eyes again.

Erin leaned forward and kissed his forehead, "Get some rest Jamie - I'll see you later."

Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at her little brother, battling against something that she couldn't help him with. Henry patted Jamie's leg gently, the he put his arm around his granddaughter and led her out of the room.

"I'll be back soon," Frank informed his youngest.

The young man opened his eyes a little, "Don't rush dad, I'll be fine."

Frank looked from his youngest to his oldest, "I'll be back soon!" he insisted.

Danny spent the next hour watching his little brother sleep. What had Jamie done to deserve being holed up in hospital after inhaling Anthrax spores, of all things, on a routine call? Of all the things Danny had to worry about with Jamie on the beat, Anthrax on a routine call, had definitely been at the bottom of his list. He sighed deeply as he tried to get comfortable in one of the worlds most uncomfortable chairs.

A small moan brought his attention to the young man in the bed. His face seemed pinched in pain. Danny noticed beads of sweat oh his forehead. He rose from the chair and placed a hand on his brothers brow - he definitely felt warm. Jamie moaned again as he moved his head backwards and forwards.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, panic plain to see in them. He was once again consumed by a coughing fit, then he clasped his arms around his chest. Danny perched on the side of his bed, as close to him as he could be, "What is it Jamie? What's wrong?" Danny was beside himself with worry. His brother was becoming paler and paler by the second, "Jamie! What...?"

"Ch...chest hurts! C...can't b...breathe D...Danny..."

**And so ends chapter 3. Hope it was ok and not to boring! I'm sure I've skirted over lots of issues, but this is fan fiction...might take a few days for the next chapter but I will be as quick as I can! Thanks for reading :-) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for all the reviews and favourites, it really means a lot.**

**One reviewer commented that the story was a bit messy, that it didn't make a lot of sense - I do actually agree with you to a point - this was one of those stories that started off as a good idea, then turned into a tough one to make sense of, hence this final chapter has taken some doing! I guess I just wanted to write another good old hurt/comfort with a dash of big brother/family - pure and simple! Will think more about the next one though - any ideas?**

**Chapter 4**

"What? What do you mean you can't breathe?" Any composure that Danny had managed to keep was rapidly flying out of the window. He pressed the call button as he tried to reign in his panic so that he could help his brother - the same brother who looked like he was having a heart attack, with his pale face and clammy skin!

Suddenly the door flew open and a nurse quickly surveyed the situation, she put her head out of the door, "Can someone page Dr Moore - now!"

She immediately started Jamie on oxygen, placing the mask gently over the younger man's head. His panicked eyes sought out his brother, who had stepped forward and took his hand, "It's going to be alright little brother, try to relax..." Danny said quietly, gently rubbing small circles on his brother's hand with his thumb.

Dr Moore ran in - stethoscope in hand. He listened to Jamie's breathing, then barked out a range of tests he wanted organising...now!

"Doc, what's going on? He looked like he was having a heart attack," Danny's voice quivered as he spoke.

"He's not having a heart attack - that I can assure you. It might be due to his cold..." he replied, never taking his eyes off Jamie, "I don't really want to speculate... let's see what the tests tell us - then I will be able to give you a more definitive answer. I've given him some pain relief, which seems to be working...we'll get those tests done immediately."

Danny had felt Jamie's hand relax a little during their conversation, which told him that his brother was not in as much pain, leaving him much more relaxed. He glanced at the younger man, who now seemed to be asleep and felt tears prick in his eyes. Dr Moore patted his arm, "I know it was scary, seeing your brother like that, but we will get to the bottom of it and get him sorted out - I promise."

Danny nodded his thanks, still not quite trusting himself to speak, "Why don't you go get a coffee of something to eat? It's going to take a while to do the tests and the coffee's not to bad for cafeteria stuff."

Danny looked torn but agreed, "You will call me if anything..."

"Of course..."

Danny nodded again as he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his brothers head, "I'll be here when you get back Jamie," he whispered. He looked at the doctor, "No-one is to know about that! I've got my hard ass detective reputation to keep up!"

Dr Moore chuckled, "Your secrets safe with me," he assured the detective.

Danny watched them load Jamie's bed into the lift. Once the doors slid shut, Danny's energy seemed to disappear and he sank heavily into a chair with his head in his hands. After a few minutes he gathered himself together and headed for the cafeteria, taking out his phone to call his dad and Linda on the way.

Thirty minutes later, Danny was sat in Jamie's room - his coffee sat beside him, stone cold. He hadn't been able to sit still down in the cafeteria. He had spoken to his dad and Linda, informing the latter that he would be home as soon as he knew Jamie would be alright. His dad assured him that he was on his way to the hospital.

A shadow appeared in the doorway. It walked in depositing a chair next to Danny, "Is this seat taken?"

Danny glanced up, a crooked smile on his lips, "Well seeing as you just brought the seat in, I guess not."

As Frank sat down, two coffees appeared, "This is the good stuff," Frank informed his son. Danny took a mouthful of the hot liquid - shuddering as he felt the heat make its way down his throat, "What happened Danny?"

"God dad...he just...I don't know! He couldn't breathe properly - he was coughing...I...I thought he was having a heart attack!" Danny took another drink, "Dr gave him a sedative or something - he said it wasn't his heart...so they took him for some tests...he was supposed to be getting better!"

"I'm sure it's just a small set back - he's going to be fine," Frank insisted, not sure if he was trying to assure Danny or himself.

Danny gulped down the rest of his coffee and glanced at his watch, "What's taking them so long..."

The two Reagan men sat in a comfortable silence as they waited for their youngest to return. After a while the two doors to the room slammed open to reveal the doctor and Jamie still dozing on his bed. Frank jumped up, surprised by the pallor of the younger man - he could see what Danny had meant now.

They got the bed situated and allowed Frank and Danny to come closer. Jamie did actually look a lot better now than when he had been taken for the tests to Danny, but he could see the anxiety in his fathers eyes, "Hey dad, he looks a lot better now..." Frank looked at Danny in surprise, but nodded his acceptance.

"So doc, do we know what happened?" Danny turned his attention to the doctor.

"He was on the verge of developing a nasty case of pnuemonia. Inhaling those spores coupled with him already having a virus to fight - well it was a little to much for him to cope with. I think he woke up, felt some pain, probably panicked, which made the pain worse..."

Anything that Danny might have said died on his lips as he felt a light touch on his hand that he had rested on the bed. One glance showed him his brothers hand resting on his. He gently took hold of his hand and gave it a small squeeze.

Danny looked up to see his brothers eyes open a fraction. Danny smiled and relaxed, "Hey there, you back with us?"

Jamie managed a small smile, "I think so..."

"So what now doctor?" Frank asked, smiling at the scene before him

"He's on some more antibiotics - a little more aggressive - to try to knock the pnuemonia on its head. He's going to be very tired, as his body has a fair battle on its hands. But Im hopeful that he will be out in a few days, with a view to being back at work a week or so after - light duties to start with!" The doctor insisted, when he saw Jamie's pouting face.

"You were very lucky Jamie, although I guess it doesn't feel that way at the moment - the fact that the spores hadnt been tampered with and that we caught the pnuemonia early mean a quicker recovery!"

Jamie opened his mouth to respond, but was overcome by a coughing fit, causing him to sit up quickly, and squeeze Danny's hand harder, "Take it easy kid...that's it...breathe..."

Frank appeared at his other side with a cup of water which Jamie grabbed gratefully.

The doctor waited for the coughing to stop, checked him over, then left the three Reagan men together.

"You ok Jamie?" Frank asked his youngest son as he helped him sit up a bit straighter.

"I guess..." he gasped, "Who'd have thought investigating a missing person could turn into this!" he finished ruefully, letting his head fall back tiredly.

"But you're gonna be alright and that's the main thing,"Danny tried to sound positive.

Jamie sighed, "Yeah - hey how's Cruz? He didn't get infected did he?"

Frank patted his arm, "No son, you both followed protocol to the letter, so that kept him out of harms way."

"Good. Mind you he nearly knocked the door down after I'd told him what had happened," Jamie remembered.

"He wasn't the only one," Danny mumbled.

"What time is it?" Jamie asked, smiling at Danny's last comment.

"It's late," was all Frank said.

Jamie looked closely at his father and brother. Even in the subdued lighting he could see how tired they both were, "Why don't you both go home," he suggested hating the fact that he was the cause of their tiredness.

Danny looked mortified that he would even suggest such a thing, " No Jamie..."

"Look Danny, I know for a fact that you've been here all day! You need to see Linda and your boys!" Jamie insisted.

"I've spoken to Linda, she knows what's happening."

"Please Danny. I appreciate that you've stayed with me all day - more than you know, but your boys need you too!" Danny liked the fact that Jamie had said that his boys would need him too, because that proved to him that his little brother did need him, no matter what he tried to argue to the contrary. He could see that Jamie was beginning to fade yet again and looked to his father for guidance, "He's right Danny, your boys, although they try to understand, need to see their dad. I'll stay with Jamie tonight - he'll not be alone!"

Danny looked torn, "You sure kid?"

Jamie nodded, "I'm sure dad can cope..." he smiled.

Danny chuckled, "Ok you win. I'm coming back first thing so you can get some rest dad!" "Wouldn't have it any other way," Frank replied with a satisfied smile.

Danny turned his attention back to his brother, "Now no more heart attack moments, you hear?" Danny ordered his brother as he ruffled his hair.

"Can't promise," came the reply.

Danny took a few seconds to really look at Jamie. He still looked paler than he liked and he was still hooked up to machines which reminded Danny of just how bad it could've been. He felt a shiver run down his spine, as he leaned over and kissed Jamie on the top of his head. When he looked down he saw tired eyes staring at him widely, "Not a word!" he growled, with a smile on his face. As he turned to leave, he felt a hand grab him, "Thanks Danny, for being here - I..." Jamie couldn't carry on past the lump of emotion that had lodged in his throat. Danny just smiled back. He hugged his father, and then with one last glance at his brother, he left the room.

Jamie sighed deeply when he'd gone, "Man it's hard to keep up the act when ..." he had almost forgotten who he was admitting this to. Frank, for his part, just smiled as he smoothed down Jamie's covers and began to tuck them around him, just as he had done as a kid, "When all you want to do is sleep," he finished for him.

Jamie looked sheepish, but that didn't deter his dad, "You need anything?"

"No, I'm good," Jamie yawned.

Frank began to stroke his hair gently, "You sleep son...it's been a long day."

'Longest one I've had in a long time' thought Frank as he listened to the snoft snores of his already fast asleep youngest son.

**So that's it. Done! I know that's probably the worst chapter I have ever written so if you review please be as gentle as you can - I do realise that it's not good. Thank you so much for your reviews and for making the story or me, as an author, a favourite - it really means a lot. **

**I will definitely plan the next story better - I've got an idea brewing - hope to see you soon xx**


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